Christie’s Spotlights Southeast Asian Art

Affandi’s ‘Penari Bali’ has a high estimate of $192,300 at Christie’s spring sale in Hong Kong.

Christie’s kicks off its annual Hong Kong spring sales at the city’s Convention Centre on Saturday, and as usual, Chinese works dominate the offerings.

But interest in Southeast Asian art is on the rise, with Southeast Asian collectors snapping up their region’s works. Meanwhile, buyers from other parts of Asia are capitalizing on the category’s relatively modest price tags, driving auction sales upward.

Wine, Asian art, antiques, paintings, watches and jewelry are on the block during the five-day event. At the Asian contemporary and modern art sales on Saturday and Sunday, 199 lots by Southeast Asian artists are on offer. To compare, the auction house sold just 87 lots in May 2011.

In April, Sotheby’s sold 165 works, or 96% of those on offer, at its Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art for $14.5 million and bidding was far more brisk than those for works by the top Chinese contemporary artists that have dominated auction results in recent years.

“Collectors are looking for something new,” said Eric Chang, a specialist for Asian 20th century and contemporary art in Hong Kong. Compared to Chinese art, he added, the prices for Southeast Asian art are “quite a bit lower.”

The most anticipated work is Indonesian artist I Nyoman Masriadi’s “Masriadi Presents – Attack from Website,” expected to fetch as much as $384,600. The painting, which spans 3 meters wide, depicts a teeth-baring shark atop a computer screen background.

Abstract works from the modern era are especially hot, Mr. Chang said. Of the five works on sale by Filipino abstract artist Fernando Zóbel, “Arganda,” a black-and-white work inspired by landscapes and painted in 1961, is estimated to sell for as much as $153,800.

Singaporean artist Cheong Soo Pieng, whose style mixes Asian landscapes with Mark Rothko-like abstraction, is also a name to work. His work “Nature’s Expression” bears a high estimate of $192,300.

Art from Southeast Asia can be broadly broken into two categories, according to Mr. Chang. On the one hand, there are painters who mix Western techniques with traditional Southeast Asian themes and strong colors. On the other, there are artists who are influenced by Chinese ink painting and traditional aesthetics, a style that attracts mainland Chinese and Hong Kong collectors, Mr. Chang noted.

The first category includes Indonesian artist Affandi, whose works often depict Balinese scenes with bold outlines of reds and yellow. His painting titled “Penari Bali,” a portrait of a traditional dancer, has a high estimate of $192,300 at Christie’s upcoming sale, while his “Balinese Fisherman” portrait is expected to fetch as much as $323,600.

Among the second group, Mr. Chang counts Chinese-born Indonesian Lee Man Fong. The artist, whose works often depict tranquil rural scenes or traditional life, became the official court painter at the Indonesian presidential palace from 1961 to 1966.

Mr. Lee’s “Fortune and Longevity” sold for $4.4 million at Sotheby’s last fall, the highest price ever realized at auction for a work from the area.

Mok Kim Chuan, a specialist for Southeast Asian at Sotheby’s, said that the region’s art is appealing to collectors across the continent and signal growing demand. “When we first started selling the category [in 2001], the vast majority of clients were Indonesian,” he said. “Now, we’re seeing cross-buying from all over Asia.”

Art collectors are also seeing Southeast Asian works as relative bargains, especially when compared to the Chinese painters that have become auction darlings in recent years. Chinese modernist abstract painter Zao Wou-Ki’s “Water Music” is estimated to reach $2.3 million at the upcoming Christie’s sale. Chinese contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi’s “Society” is expected to sell for $3.1 million.

To compare, the combined estimated value of the works by Southeast Asian artists on sale this week is $6 million.

The rising wealth of Southeast Asia encourages the hobby – Singapore now has more millionaires per capita than any other city, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group, and Indonesian billionaires outnumber those in Japan, according to Forbes magazine.

Jackson See, a Singaporean collector who is serves on the acquisitions committee at the Tate Modern gallery in London, says art buying is becoming increasingly competitive in his home city.

“The collecting environment is growing fast here in Singapore,” said Mr. See. “The prices aren’t as high as Chinese art, so people can buy, but it’s getting difficult. Prices have gone up 10 times over the past 10 years.”

Several other auction houses are holding sales events at the same time as Christie’s, hoping to draw some of the deep-pocketed buyers who are visiting for the Art Basel fair in Hong Kong. English firm Bonhams is selling Asian contemporary art, fine Chinese paintings, jewelry and watches on Saturday. It kicks off its spring event with a single-malt whisky and wine sale on Thursday.

Taiwanese auction house Ravenel will sell modern and contemporary Asian art and jewelry on Saturday while Beijing-based Poly Auction will hold its sales on Sunday and Tuesday. Traditional Chinese paintings, antiques and snuff bottles will be on the block at Poly’s sales.